LANSING, MI — Graduates of Cooley Law School’s Lansing campus were honored during a commencement ceremony at the MSU Wharton Center Pasant Theatre on April 21.
Thirty-six juris doctor degrees were presented to members of Cooley Law School’s Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Class in Lansing.
Chosen by their peers, Jamie Linnell and Arjan Malushi gave the class farewell remarks. Robert Hertzberg (Wiest Class, 1979) delivered the keynote speech.
“We’ve grown into advocates and we’ve grown into professionals,” said Linnell. “But more than that, we’ve grown into a community. We’ve made it to this moment – not just as students, but as stewards of justice. Today isn’t just the end of law school, it’s the beginning of a journey where we take everything we’ve learned into the real world. Wherever we go, we leave here with something more powerful: The tools to fight for the causes that we believe in. Be bold, be relentless, be the person who actually reads the terms and conditions before you sign. Let’s get out there and change the world. Every one of us is going to do amazing things. We will be the difference makers as we are ready.”
“Today marks the end of the journey that tested every one of us – our patience, our resilience, our confidence, and even our caffeine tolerance,” said Malushi. “But here we are – we made it. Law school is not something you survive alone. Together we built a community. A diverse, driven, passionate class united by a shared belief in justice and the power of advocacy. As we move forward, I’ll leave you with this: The law will challenge us, but it will also give us the power to make a difference. Never underestimate the power of your voice, your integrity, or your ability to change someone’s life with your well-chosen words for a well-fought case. We are trained for this. We were built for this. We belong here.”
In his keynote address, Hertzberg reflected on his childhood school years and how his struggles with dyslexia impacted his comprehension in grade school and often led to in-school suspensions.
“When I was young, it was hard for me to read, write and comprehend things. I have a problem distinguishing words on a page so I acted out always as a kid and got in trouble,” he said. “Kids with learning disabilities were not diagnosed readily back then as much as it pains me to say 60 years ago. But my mom was a social worker and recognized something was not clicking for me.”
With a C+/D- average, Hertzberg graduated from high school, and enrolled at Eastern Michigan University on probation. As his parents moved him in at EMU his freshman year, Hertzberg’s father asked him: “So, what are you going to do?”
“Without hesitation, I said, ‘I’m going to be an attorney.’ Then, there was dead silence,” Hertzberg told the graduates.
Hertzberg graduated EMU with a B+ average and took the LSAT. His father, an attorney, encouraged his son to apply to Cooley Law School, and ask to have his exams dictated to him. This was in 1976, around the time the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act had passed in Michigan, noted Hertzberg. Hertzberg progressed through law school having all his exams dictated.
When it was time to take the bar exam, Hertzberg petitioned the Michigan Bar and he received permission to become the first person in Michigan who was not visually impaired to dictate their bar exam.
“I still have the letter of approval as a reminder of how far I’ve come,” Hertzberg told the graduates, acknowledging he constantly works around his disability. “I have a tremendous amount of street smarts and good intuition, and I’ve learned to play to my strength and surround myself with people who complement my skills.”
Hertzberg shared about how he worked his way up become a nationally-esteemed bankruptcy lawyer and, at one point, operated his own practice. He was inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy, and recently into the Michigan Lawyer’s Hall of Fame. The biggest moment in his 46 years as a lawyer was arguing a bankruptcy tax case against the IRS before the U.S. Supreme Court. While he lost the case, Hertzberg noted “it was one of the best days of my life.”
“None of this could have happened if Cooley had not given me a chance to go to law school at a time when few others recognized learning disabilities,” Hertzberg said. “I know all of you have your own stories and how you ended up at Cooley. I’m very proud to be in your company and united as part of a community that looks beyond the typical criteria for success. You all have law degrees now. You have the ability to make whatever you want from it. Believe in yourself and don’t ever give up. Don’t let any challenge or differences or disabilities that you face in life hold you back in pursuing your passion. There are unlimited opportunities. Don’t be afraid to take risks.”
During the ceremony, Cooley Professor Rich Henke was presented with the Stanley E. Beattie Award for excellence in teaching. Each term’s graduating class votes on the faculty member who will be honored with the award.
Each Cooley Law School class is named for a distinguished member of the legal profession. The commencement ceremony for Cooley’s spring graduating classes honored U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
After his military service, Holmes entered Harvard Law School and received his LL.B. in 1866; he was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar on March 4, 1867. In September of 1902, the death of Justice Horace Gray created a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, and President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Holmes to the vacancy. Justice Holmes served nearly 30 years on the Court, and until his last four years, he never missed a session and walked the nearly two miles from his home to work every day. He died on March 6, 1935, two days short of his 94th birthday. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife of 57 years.